Can-filling machine.



No. 628,95l. Patented July l8, I899. E METZENAUB CAN FILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Feb. 6, 189's.

3 Sheets-Sheet No Model.)

\\IN 4 s Ne. 628,95l. Patented luly I8, l899.. E. METZENAUR.

CAN FILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Feb. 6, 1899. (N0 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

m: NORRIS FEYERS 00., momuwu. WASHINGTON, mc.

Nd. 628,95l. Patentedduly I8, [899. E. METZENAUR.

CAN FILLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Feb. 8, 1899.;

5(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 WIN-WIN INININ llmwlmlmlmlmpml 5 CAN-FILLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,951, dated July 18,1899. Application filed February 6,1899. Serial No. 704,650. (No5110581.)

To to whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMIL METZENAUR, of the city of St. Louis, State ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCan-Filling Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart thereof.

Myinvention relates to can-filling machines; and it consists of thenovel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

My invention relates to that class of canfilling machines wherein alarge number of cans are continuously filled with a powdered orfinely-granulated product.

Figure l is a side elevation of my improved can-filling machine. detailsectional view taken approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3and 4: are side elevations of rotating paddle-shafts made use of in myimproved machine. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of one of thesepaddle-shafts. Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse sectional view takenapproximately on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional View taken ap proximately on the line 7 7of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken approximately onthe line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

In the construction of my improved machine an elongated box-framework 1is constructed, from the center of which rises a rectangular chute 1.Along the top edge of the box 1 extends a rail 2, and immediately belowsaid rails 2 and on the inner faces of the sides of the box 1 are thestrips 3, the up: per outer corners of which are cut away, as indicatedby 4:, in order to form a track, and immediately below said strips isarranged a plate 5, the same extending between the sides of the box 1and from one end to the other thereof. Formed in saidplate 5 immediatelybelow the chute 1 to the right-hand side thereof is a plurality oflongitudinally-extending slots 6.

Secured to the inside faces of the side walls of the box 1 a shortdistance below the plate 5 are the rails 7, and extending downwardlyfrom said rails 7 and toward the center of the box 1 are the inclinedwalls S,wl1ich, together With the bottom 9, form a hopper that extendsfrom a point beneath the chute 1 to the right- Fig. 2'is an enlargedhand end of the box 1, and in the bottom of said hopper is arranged aspiral conveyer 10.

Shaft 11 is rotatably arranged in fixed bearings at the right-hand endof the box 1 in approximate horizontal alinement with the plate 5, andin the left-hand end of the box is rotatably arranged a similar shaft,the ends of the same being journaled in longitudinallyadjustable bearings 12. Arranged upon these shafts inside the box and adjacent the sidesthereof are the sprocket-wheels 13, over which pass the sprocket-chains1 1. These'sprocketchains 14 on the opposite sides of the box areconnected at intervals by the transverse bars 15, and the upper portionsof said chains ride in the tracks formed in the upper portions of thestrips 3, while the lower portions of said chains ride upon the rails 7.

Normally occupying a groove 16, formed in the inside face of theright-hand one of the rails 2, is a longitudinally-extending bar 17, thesame being arranged at a point belowthe chute 1, and said bar islaterally adjustable by means of the thumb-screws 18, the same passingthrough the right-hand rail 2 and engaging against said bar. The purposeand function of this bar will be hereinafter set forth. Arranged withinthe lower end of the chute 1 are three transversely-arranged hoppers 19,the same tapering toward their lower ends, and arranged in the extremelower end of each of said hoppers is a transversely-extending shaft 20,the same beingprovided with a pair of oppositely arranged blades orpaddles 21, each of said blades or paddles extending from the end of thebody of said shaft 20 to the center thereof. Arranged upon each end ofthe outside pair. of these shafts 20 are the sprocket-wheels 22, andarranged upon the front end of the central one of said shafts 20 is asprocket-wheel 23.

Extending transversely through the chute 1 and in the upper outercorners of the outer pair of hoppers 19 are the shafts 24, the same being provided with a plurality of alternatelyarrangedoppositely-extending blades or paddles 25, and upon each end of each ofsaid shafts 24: are fixed the sprocket-wheels 26.

Connecting the left-hand one of the sprocket-wheels 22 with the lefthandone of the sprocket-wheels 26 on thevfront of the machine as viewedin Fig. 1 is a sprocket-chain too function of these varioussprocket-wheels and sprocket-chains is to impart the proper rotarymotion to the paddle-shafts 20 and 24, which operate in the hoppers 19.

Arranged to operate longitudinally through the lower ends of the hoppers19 is a cut-off plate 31, the same having a plurality of openings 32,arranged to coincide with the passages through the hoppers 19, saidplate 31 being moved by a screw-rod 33, passing through a block 34,fixed upon a bar 35, that is arranged at the left-hand side of thechute 1. The object of this cut-off plate 31 is to regulate and cut offthe flow of the product that is being canned through the lower ends ofthe hoppers 19.

Arranged upon each end of the chute 1 is a pair oftransversely-extending bars 36, in the centers of which are positionedvertical guide-plates 37, in which guide-plates are arranged forvertical movement the blocks 38. Projecting laterally from the lowerends of the guide-plates 37 are blocks 39, through which passhand-screws 40, the same engaging the blocks 38. Extending laterallyfrom each of the blocks 38 are rods 41, the same being formed integralwith the upperends of the vertically-arranged rods 42, the lower ends ofwhich are connected by the transverse bars 43. These bars 43 occupyplanes just beneath the lower ends of the hoppers 19 and are connectedby the plurality of longitudinally-exten'dingbars 44. The objectof theselongitudinally-extending bars 44 is to evenly distribute the material orproduct that is passing from the hoppers 19 into the cans that are beingslowly moved along the plate 5. Standards 45 extend upwardly from theleft-hand end of the machine,and journaled in suitable bearings fixed-tosaid standard is a pair of shafts 46 and 47. Fixed upon the shaft 47 isapulley 48, that is driven in any suitable manner, and arranged upon theouter end of said shaft 47 is a small sprocket-wheel 49, the same beingconnected by a sprocket-chain 50 with the sprocket-wheel 22 on the frontend of the right-hand one of the shafts 20.

Arranged upon the shaft 46 is a pair of sprocket-wheels 51 and 52, thesprocket-wheel 51 being driven by a sprocket-chain 53, that passesaround the small sprocket-wheel carried by the shaft 48, and passingaround the smaller wheel 52 and a sprocket-wheel 54, fixed upon the endof the shaft 11,is a sprocketchain 55. The object of these rollers,shafts, sprocket-wheels, and sprocket-chains is to impart the properrotary motion to the shaft 11, which drives the endless carrier,comprising the sprocket-chains l4 and bars 15, and also to impart theproper rotary motion to the hand of the chute 1 right-hand one of thepaddle-shafts 20, from which the various other paddle-shafts are driven,by connections heretofore described.

The operation is as follows: Rotary motion is imparted to the shaft 47by driving the beltwheel 48 in'any suitable manner, and thus r0- tarymotion will in turn be imparted to the shaft 11 by means of thesprocket-chain 53, sprocketwheel 51, shaft 46, sprocket-wheel 52,sprocket-chain 55, and sprocket-wheel 54, which is located upon saidshaft 11, and to the right-hand one of the shafts 20 by means of thesprocket-wheel 49, carried by the shaft 47, and sprocket-chain 50, whichpasses around said sprocket wheel 49 and around the sprocket-wheel 22,carried by said shaft 20. The remaining pair of shafts 20, together withthe shafts 24, will be rotated, owing to the sprocket chains connectingthe sprocket- Wheels carried by said shafts, and consequently thepaddles carried by said shafts 20 will operate in the lower ends of thehoppers 19, and the paddles carried by the shafts 24 will operate in theupper ends of the outer pair of hoppers 19. The sprocketchains 14,connected by the transverse bars 15, forming an endless carrier, will beslowly operated owing to the difference in size between thesprocket-wheels 52 and 54, which sprocket-wheel 52 is much smaller thansaid sprocket-wheel 54, and the cans to be filled are placed in thespaces between the transverse bars 15 and upon the plate 5, said cansbeing thus positioned immediately to the left Thelongitudinallyextending bars 44 are adjusted by means of the hand-screws40 until they occupy a plane just above the tops of the open cans, andas said cans are drawn along by the endless carrier to a positionbeneath the lower ends of the hoppers 19 the powder or pulverizedproduct to be canned passes downwardly through the hoppers through theopenings 32 in the cut-off plate, which has been moved so as to bringsaid openings into coincidence with the passage through saidhoppers,and, finally,said product discharges through the lower ends ofthe hoppers between the bars 44 and into the cans. The rotating paddleshafts at the mouths of the hoppers 19 agitate the product as it isdischarged into the cans and together with the longitudinally-extendingbars 44 cause said product to be very evenly and uniformly distributedinto said cans. The paddle-shafts 24 operate at the upper ends of theouter pair of hoppers 19, and thus prevent any clogging up of theproduct at the heads or upper ends of the hoppers. The overflow from thecans or the excess product that passes downwardly between said canslodges upon the plate 5, and as it is scraped along by the slowly-movingcans it will enter and pass through the openings 6 in said plate andpass downwardly into the hopper, in which operates the spiral conveyer10. .By said spiral conveyer it is moved to the righthand end of themachine, and from thence it is taken in any suitable manner and carriedback to the upper end of the chute l. The cans after being filled aremoved along the plate 5 until they pass from beneath the chute l wherethey are taken out of the machine, and the tops are then placed uponsaid cans, after which they are labeled and packed. Should there be anyspace between the row of cans adjacent the adjustable bar 17, said spacemay be taken up by manipulating the screws 18 to move said barinwardly.. Thus said cans are prevented from moving laterallyduring thetime they are passing beneath the mouths of the hoppers.

A can-filling machine of my improved construction possesses superioradvantages in point of simplicity, durability, and general efficiencyand can be used for filling cans with any finely-powdered ordisintegrated product.

I claim-- 1. Inacan-filliugmachine,afeeding-chute, a plurality ofvertically-adjustable bars extending longitudinally in a plane justbelow the lower end of said chute, a plurality of hoppers arranged inthe lower end of said feeding-chute, and means whereby cans arecontinuouslypassed beneath said chute, substantially as specified.

2. In-a can-fillingmachine,afeeding-chute, a plurality ofvertically-adjustable bars extending longitudinally in a plane justbelow thelower end of said chute, a plurality of hoppers arranged in thelower end of said chute, a paddle shaft rotatably arranged in the mouthof each hopper, and means whereby cans are continuously passed beneathsaid chute, substantially as specified.

3. Inacan-filling machine,afeeding-chute, a plurality ofvertically-adjustable bars ex- 'tending longitudinally in a plane justbelow the lower end of said chute, a plurality of hoppers arranged inthe lower end of said chute, a paddle shaft rotatably arranged in themouth of each hopper, a cut-off plate operating horizontally throughsaid hoppers above the paddle-shafts, and means whereby cans arecontinuously passed beneath said chute, substantially as specified.

4. In a can-filling machine, a box-framework, a horizontally arrangedperforated plate extending longitudinally throughout said framework in aplane just below the top of said framework, an endless conveyertraveling over, said plate, a feeding-ch ute exten ding upwardly fromsaid boX-fra1ne,a plurality of hoppers arranged in the lower end of saidchute, a paddle-shaft rotatably arranged in the mouth of each hopper,alongitudinallyadjustable cut-off plate operating through the hoppersabove the paddle-shafts, paddleshafts rotatably arranged in the upperends of certain of the hoppers, a plurality of vertically-adjustablelongitudinally-extending bars beneath the lower end of the feedingchute,a laterally-adjustable bar in the upper end of the box-frame beneath thefeed-chute,

and a spiral conveyer arranged in the boxframe beneath the perforatedplate, substantially as specified.

5. In a can-filling machine, a box-framework, a feeding-chute extendingupwardly ranged between said chute and the perforated plate,substantially as specified.

6. In a. can-filling machine, a box-framework, a feeding-chute extendingupwardly from the center of said framework, a plurality of hoppersarranged in the lower end of said chute, paddle-shafts rotatablyarranged in the lower ends of said hoppers, a perforated platehorizontallyarranged in the box-frame below the lower end of the chute,means whereby cans arecontinuously passed over said perforatedplate, a plurality of vertically-adjustable longitudinally-extendingbars arranged between said chute and the perforated plate, and alongitudinally-exteuding laterally-adjustable bar arranged against theinner face of one of the side walls of the box-frame between saidvertically-adjustable bars and the perforated plate, substantially asspecified.

7. In a can-filling machine, a box-frame, a perforated platehorizontally arranged in the upper portion of said frame, afeeding-chute extending upwardly from said frame, a plurality of hoppersarranged in the lower end of said feeding-chute, means whereby cans arecontinuously passed over the perforated plate beneath the hoppers, apaddle-shaft horizontally arranged in the lower end of each of thehoppers, and a paddle-shaft horizontally arranged in the upper outercorner of the two outside hoppers, substantially as specified.

8. In a can-filling machine, constructed with a vertically-arrangedfeeding-chute, a plurality of vertically-adj ustable bars extendinglongitudinally in a plane immediatelybeneath the feeding-chnte, andmeans whereby cans are passed continuously beneath saidlongitudinally-extending bars, substantially as specified.

9. In a can-filling machine, a Vertically-arranged feeding-chute, aplurality of hoppers arranged in the lower end of said chute, aplurality of vertically-adj ustable bars extending longitudinally in aplane immediately below the mouths of the hoppers, and means wherebycans are passed continuously beneath said longitudinally-extending bars,substantially as specified.

10. In a can-filling machine, a box-framework, a perforated platehorizontally arranged in the upper portion of said box-framework, afeeding-chute vertically arranged above said framework, means wherebycans IIO are continuously passed over the perforated plate, and alaterally-adjustable longitudinally-extending bar arranged upon theinner face of one of the side walls of the box-frame in a plane aboveand parallel with the perforated plate, substantially as specified.

11. In a can filling machine, a feeding chute, a perforated platehorizontally ar ranged below said feeding chute, means whereby theproduct to be canned is continuously fed through the chute, meanswhereby cans are continuously passed over the perforated plate beneaththe chute, which prod uctfeeding means and can-delivering means operatesimultaneously, means whereby the excess material Within the cans isscraped off after the cans pass from beneath the feedingchute, and atrough arranged beneath the perforated plate for receiving the excessproduct after the same passes through the perforations in said plate,substantially as specified.

12. In a can filling machine, a feedingchute, a perforated platearranged beneath said chute, means whereby cans are passed over saidplate beneath the chute, means whereby the product to be canned is fedcontinuously through said chute simultaneous with the movement of thecans beneath said chute, means whereby the excess product in the cans isremoved after the cans pass from beneath the feeding-chute, a trougharranged beneath the perforated plate to receive the excess productafter it passes through said plate, and means arranged in said troughfor removing the excess product to a point Where it may be redeliveredto the feeding-chute, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EMIL METZENAUR.

Vitnesse's:

M. P. SMITH, H. W. TYLER.

